Machine for making roofing tiles and like articles



Sept. 19, 1933. Q WALTER 1,927,249

MACHINE FOR MAKING ROOFING TILES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Sept. 25, 19314 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

gzff gi Sept. 19, 1933. Q WALTER 1,927,249

MACHINE FOR MAKING ROOFING TILES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Sept. 25, l93l4 Sheets-Sheet 2 p' 2 PI] 3 INVENTOR. Orro Wm 75E BY WW ATTORNEY5.

Sept. 19, 1933. o. WALTER 1,927,249

MACHINE FOR MAKI G ROOFING TILES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Sept. 25, 19514 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

0770 l i f/zrifi ATTORNEY5,

O. WALTER Sept. 19, 1933.

MACHINE FOR MAKING ROOFING TILES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Sept. 25, 19314 Sheets-Sheet 4 [NVENTOR r'. a f ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 19, 1933 machine {gun MAKING ncome *mes Otto -Waltel', fPerrysville, 1nd.

itpplleaiion September 25, 1981 MF-No. J 535,059

"The"object"oi this 2 invention is to provide-a machine 'iortherapidand'eeonomicai production mm tenant: 01 other similar material or-I'Cidfii'ig tilesahd the *nkeorsnpenor quality and texture 5 seameforj' general use in 'piaee bfwodd and composition shingles or the old'style shingles-or tiles. hs'to rapidityof production; themachine nerem'shownean' akeabout 150 tiles a minute 9,000 lain h'diir, which"greatlyreduces" *the 'C'OSt thereof.

In the'manufacture' or tiies bymaehinesheretofore; partreuian of"cement, there"has" been" a double prbpremynamei rto su fiiciehtly Iiiixthe eeme t bmmer mitteriafioithe tileso that the the; will: beSubs'tahtifilly uniform" in" 'eharacter ia'nd "tof'el-iiiiihhte" airbubbles" Whi'ChTender the "tns'wea1 ;and"variable "character. "The twoforegoing "phases of the problem involved have been" satisfactorily"sowed" by the"machine' herein a shownandtisit'bd;"in adiiition'tothevery rapid and inffiehsive' bfwetlon of I the tiles.

Aside "from the-above, themachineis adapted to produce a 'tile" ofbeaiiuruny "blended" 'c'oi'o'rs w en supp ie -with" avariously'coIoredmix.

, "The jiiiiicipal i'e'ature "ofthe" invention. consists in "the menus"for-- a itatin the" cementor mix in"the"moldbox"between the mold"plates.

'I hejfsaid mealns Consists "'of vertically disposed agitating?fingersweingrapidw reciprocatedverti'daily inth" niaterialtietween eachpair-"bf mold plates, whereby the cementfor 'other'material"is wereuniformly mix a midthe minutiae-that would be liableto" weaken thetumor-"render the tiles variable in strength-are eliminated. Thepuddl'ing action of the fin'gei'saIsooausesthe' sur- "face "of the tile"to be" smooth and: hard. For "this "purpose; the agitatin fingers "arerereramy re- "'fbfo'catedahbut lofl times amixiute'with a'tweiveinchs't'roke. p g

Further "features of the "invention eonslstin mews; "S'iibh as a" mothbar with "teeth? 01" guid- "ingfiheflowen ends of the agitating'flngers'into the 'mold'tiox improper position between th'emdld lates"ii/herein and withdrawing Said tdbtfi'bar i dunng the 'ijrfrticalreciprocation Qr'tne agitat- 'ng finge Also,there"aretwd'dairiagsmount-'ed' the "framework, a" tower "one carrying the "agitatihg fingersWhich'are adapted to 'be'verticarrying'then iahs "forvertically"reciprocating the tower 'cai'ri'age; andiensi'onspringsforsupphoneme-letter carriage 'if'romthe'iupper cari ri'aigeimeans fofhbldi'ng said carriage unit in uppera d'idlepbsinen' and forholdingthe upper carriage down When in operating ition', and

the operation.

"The full nature of the invention will be understood" fromtheaccompanyingdrawings and" the I (following description and claims Inthedrawings; *Figure" I -'is a front elevation or the 'machinewith-aportion of the top broken away. Figure 2 isan elevation of the left-handendof =the*ma'ohine showing the mechanism in its idlepos'ition. -Figure3" is the same view of -the"machine=as thatshown' itrFigure-Zwith thepartso! the-machine-in" operating position; a concr'ete hopper" being"shown by dotted lines in dum'pingposition. Figure 4-isa'verticalsectionof the upper-parthf the machine-substantially central-arid longitudinalof the -machine with parts "broken-away. Figure 5 is a horizontalsection of 'the machine on-the line 5-'-5- of Figure 4. FigureEwan-elevation of one'end-of the concreteeharglng chute,-parts being-insect-ion. Figure i -is a horizontal section through a portionof the moldbox during the-agitating operation. Figure 8 is-a 'vertical" sectionthrough a portion ofthemold-box-on the line 8-'-8 of-Figure'7,"*showingthe agitating"fingers in theirmeansfor'elevating'saidcarriages at the end of L down positionduring theagitating operation. Figure eis-thesime-showing the upward limit of "theagitating fingers during the agitating operation.

"The apparatusshown herein includes substan- 35 tiailythree'parts, amoldcarlO; a concrete hop- 'per 11; and'the main body of the machinewhich constitutes this invention. The machine is mounted on apairofiront'uprights 12 and a pair-oi-rear uprights '13- andthe mold carsare rolled-between saiduprights under the main part ofthe 'maehine,as'seen in- Figures 1 and 2, j foreharging the-same with concrete andmolding the concreteroofing-tiles.

"but "so-"faras' this invention is concerned, they "may besepai'ated,'the-mold box being placed "upon" the "truck. The moldbox" has its sides-hiriged'to'"the"'truci r'at 15,".whereby the sides thereof'canbereadflylet down for unloading the-same. Withinthe' mold"box a large number 'ofremovable mold'piates 16 similarly formed are placedwith their lateraledgesadjacent each other? In themold boxessofar-built, there are "tworowsof these mold plates, one in each side "of the'b'ox, asshown inFigure '7, and there are mold plates in each side, making a large enoughnumber of mold plates to mold 150 roofing tiles simultaneously and inone operation of the machine. The top of the mold box 14 is open and theconcrete is dumped downward therein so as to fill all of the spacesbetween the mold plates and form the roofing tiles 18, as seen in Figure'7'.

In making roofing tiles of concrete and like" material, it is desirablethat they be sufficiently strong and light in weight. I about 15 incheslong, 9 -inches wide, i-Z; of an inch thick in the thicker portions andabout of an inch thick in the thinner portions, although the inventionis not limited to any particular size or shape of roofing tile andthe-like. tile has in it relatively large air bubbles, it will be weakbecause the tile must obviously be rela;

tively thin. Therefore, in making roofing tile of concrete, cement orlike material, the problem is presented to eliminate the relativelylarge air bubbles from the concrete between the mold plates in the moldbox. This problem is solved 1 in this invention by employing verticallymov-' able agitating fingers 20 insertable in the cement while thecement is being molded, and very rap-- idly moving said fingers up anddown. By this method and means, the air bubbles will be eliminated. Thefluidity of the mix is such that the rapid operation-of the agitatingfingers, when inserted at the center of the type of mold shown in Figure7, is sufficient to affect the entire tile.

Aside from the elimination of the air bubbles, the action of the fingerscompletes the mixing of the ingredients to produce a homogeneous. Itpuddles the mass mass throughout the tile. so that the most finelydivided particles come to rest against the surfaces of the mold platesand thereby produce a smooth, hard surface when the tile is cured. Italso causes a blending of colors to produce a beautifully variegatedtile when a variously colored mix is used.

The frame of this machine, as stated, consists. of the uprights 12 and13 secured at their lowe'r ends to a frame 21, or equivalent means, and

having front cross bars 22 and 23 and end cross bars 24 and 25 at eachend of the machine.

In this stationary main frame, two verticallymovable carriages areprovided, a lower carriage for the agitating fingers 20, and anuppercars riage with means for vertically reciprocating the lower or fingercarriage. I

The upper carriage consists of-a cross bar 28 at each end of the machinewhose down turned ends are vertically slidable between guide bars 26fastened to the main frame and a cross shaft 60 mounted thereon by meansof bearings 61. The downward movement of said upper carriage is limitedby stop bars 29 secured. thereto and adapted to engage the stationarycross bars 25 of the main frame. I

The lower carriage includes a pair of upper cross bars 30 at each end ofthe machine to each of which a lower cross bar 31 is connected 7accomplished by guide teeth it) on a tooth bar The usual tile is 41*arranged for each row of fingers 20. The

two tooth bars, asseen in Figures 2 and 5, are

slida'ble forwardly and rearwardly between guide members 43 supportedupon the main frame by cross pieces i4 and are connected by tension If hsprings. 42 which normally draw the tooth bars 41 toward each other. Inthe upper position of the finger carriage, the teeth 40 engage the lowerends of the fingers 20 to guide the same between the mold plates. Asthis carriage is lowered, the tooth bars 41 are moved away from thefingers'20 by means of a pair of frames '45 which are supported by the,cross members 36 and which engage rollers 46, carried upon the -1 endsof the toothbars 41.] Asbest shown in Figure 2, the lower ends of theframes 45 are inwardly bent' to permit the springs 42 to draw the toothbars into position to guide the fingers,

while the upper portions thereof are widened to engage the rollers topush the tooth bars away from the, fingers 20 so "that the saidtooth'barsare out'of the'way during the agitating'movement of thefingers hereinafterexplained.

In order that the lower ends of the fingers 20 may enter properly.between mold plates 16 in the mold box 14, -it' is necessary that the1nold,' car lil'with the mold box thereon shall 1 be accuratelypositioned under the machine above" described. TO' that end, the moldboxes have on a.

their sides guide bars 4:8 adapted to engage rollers 49 mountedon astationary frame'bar 50 secured to the stationary/frame uprights 12 and13. To, locate the mold box in the other direction properly,"there is acatch .51 about central of the front side of the mold box adapted to beengaged by a. latch bar 52 mounted on the stationary framebar 50, asseen in Figuresl and .2, for predetermining and holding the box in asatisfactory position to register accurately with the fingers 20.v

The, power for aria/mg the agitating fingers of this machine comesfrom,a'motor"53, seen in Figure 1, whichd'rives a belt5-i and pulleyuprights 12 at each end of the machine. I A pulley 57 through a belt 58drives a pulley 59, secured on the shaft 60 mounted in bearings 61' onthe tops of the end cross bars 28 and formingsaid upper carriage.

nectingrods 63,. the-lower ends of which are pivoted to the bars '31 at6% for the vertical reciprocation of the'finger-carrying carriage.

ing position shown in Figure 3 to the upper and idle position shown inFigure. 2, by means of a rope 70 which is looselyiconnected with theshaft 60 at 71 and extends over a sheave .72, as seen at the upperright-hand corner of Figure 1, and is r 55 secured on a shaft .56 withbearings on the At the :ends of shaft 60, there are crankfdiscs 62 towhich are connectedcongers 2D and reciprocating means.

coiled a few times about the shaft 56. When the free end thereof at 73is grasped by the hand of the'operator and pulled to tighten the coil onthe revolving shaft 56, the latter shaft winds up the rope and raisesthe shaft so and the carriages with which it is connected. This upwardmovement of the carriages is stopped when stop plates 33 fastened to thebars reach the cross members 25 of the main frame. i

The mode of operation will now'be explained together with the controlmeans. 'After the mold car and box have been pushed und r the machineand locked in proper position and while the carriages and agitatingfingers 20 are in their upper position, the operator pulls a handlewhich is pivoted to the underside of the concrete hopper 11 at 76.This'opens a gate 77 in a chute'78 which'permits the concrete or othermix to pass from the hopper 11 down through the chute 78 into the moldbox li until it fillsthe spaces between the mold plates 16. Then thegate 77 is closed.

The chute '73 is preferably formed as best shown in Figure 6. A fixedportion marked 78a forms the two ends and one side of the chute, theends being only a few inches wide and the side extending for the fulllength of the mold box. The second side of the chute is formed by aremovable plate '79 having end members 79a overlapping the end portionsof the fixed member 78d and formed with inclined slots 80 engaging pins81 carried on the said end portions. The plate '79 can be lifted fromthe pins 81 to permit removal for cleaning the interior of the chute.

In the operation, the next step is for the operatorto lower the twocarriages carrying the en- This is done by the operator pushing rearwardon a hand lever 82, seen at the righthand central portion of Figure 1.The said lever is pivoted between its ends at 83 to a bracket 84, andthe upper end, as seen in Figure 2, is pivoted to a cross bar 85 that ispivoted to a latch bar 86 that catches under one of the angle irons 36to which the lingers 20 are secured. The said latch bar supports thelower carriage and fingers in their upper and idle position (Figure 2)while'the uppercarriage is maintained in its upper position by theconnecting rods 63. When the lever 82 is actuated, it unlatches thelatch bar 86 and permits the carriages todescend, the upper carriageassuming the pcsition shown in Figure 3, resting upon the frame members25, and the lower carriage carrying the fingers 20 being supported bythe tension springs 87 some distance above th position shown in Figure3.

ation the belt 58 is loose and the crank discs 62 are free to rotate. Inthis position, the fingers f have entered between the mold plates in themold box and the tooth bars 41 have been moved away from the fingers.

The operator then looks down the upper carriage by pulling down a handlever 90. The lever 90 is secured to a shaft 91 that extends forward andrearward of the machine in a bracket 92 at the left-hand side, as shownin Figure 1. On said rod 91 there are two downwardly-extending f ngers93, as appears in 18S 2 and i, which 'cates the lower car-r The tensionsprings 8'? are able to perform this function since at this point in theoperby a crank 95 which is operated by a connecting rod 96 running froma crank 97 secured on shaft 91 at the left-hand side of Figure-4.

The next step is to set in motion the vertical reciprocationoi the lowercarriage and fingers 2 0. This is done by changing lever 106, seen 'ure2, from position there hown to the position silownin Figure 3, in 0rd;to tighten the belt 58 for transmission of power from the pulley 57 tothe pulley 59, Nhipil, through the shaft 66, drives the crank disc 62and reciproiage and the agitating fin- Said' lever 90 is'iulcrumedbetween its act on the side of the leftri=ulley F Said belt tighte igmechanism is locked in belttightening position a lock bar 163 pivotedbetween its ends to the lever 190 at 104. The lock bar 103 is providedwith a pair or" notches on the underside, one of which the bracket 92,shown in Fig i 3, to hold lever 160 in operating position, and the otherof which engages a plate 1% secure to the lever 99, as and to holdthelever in non-operating osition. e notched bar is held in engagement by aspring 195 in Figure 3, connecting the lock lever 10o.

, car 103 v th- W'hen the lever 99 is pulled down, plate 196 thereondisen ages its notch in the look 103 which enables the lever ice tooperated, and

when operated to locked by engagement of the other with bracket 92.

The-apparatus is now in position to v ca, FNU" ed through the s make a12-inch they make 1 recip oom the up or posiallyv reciprocate the lowercwith agitating tion shown in Figure 9 to the r position shown in Figure8, and back This very rapid agitation of the concrete or mix -oetweenthe mold plates in th h tocause practically all of the fingers and theor. the cone cause slight variations in the operation fect of thefingers. The the concrete, the more re. id v lo the elimination of theair bubbles accomplished. Another "feet of the fingers is the puddln gwhereby the concrete is'not only more thorougly mixed and rendereduniform in texture, but the surfaces of the tile are rendered smooth andhard when dried.

The agitating process less than one minute'in the machine here 11 shownand then the lever 90 is operated and that releases the lock. bar 103and lever ito which returns the belt tightener to the inoperativeposition shown in F 'ure 2, shuts oil the power and also eleases thestops 93 so that the carriages and fingers may be elevated. Then theoperator pulls the end 73 of the rope 2%, as has been explained,

other is substituted, and thus, with the machine herein shown, 150roofing tiles may be made every minute or 9,000 an hour.

The invention claimed is:

l. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including an upper carriage adjustable between an upper and alower position, a lower carriage yieldingly supported by said uppercarriage, agitating fingers extending down from said lower carriage andadapted to enter and reciprocate within the molds, and means mounted insaid upper carriage for vertically reciprocating the lower carriage whenin its lower position.

2. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically-reciprocable lower carriage above themolds, agitating fingers extending down from said carriage and adaptedto enter and reciprocate within the molds, a vertically-adjustable uppercarriage above said lower carriage, mechanism carried upon said uppercarriage and connected to said lower carriage for reciprocating thelatter and the fingers carried thereby, and means for lifting said uppercarriage to remove said fingers from the mold.

3. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically-reciprocable lower carriage above themold, agitating fingers extending down from said carriage and adapted toenter and reciprocate within the molds, a vertically-adjustable uppercarriage above said first carriage, a resilient connection between saidcarriages for resiliently supporting said lower carriage from said uppercarriage, mechanism for rapidly reciprocating said lower carriage andthe fingers carried thereby when said upper carriage is in its lowermostposition, and means for lifting said upper carriage whereby said lowercarriage is elevated by means of said resilient connection to lift saidfin ers from the molds.

i. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically-reciprocable lower carriage above themolds, agitating fingers extending down from said carriage and adaptedto enter and reciprocate within the molds, a vertically-adjustable uppercarriage above said first carriage, a resilient connection between saidcarriages for resiliently supporting said lower carriage from said uppercarriage, mechanism carried upon said up per carriage for rapidlyreciprocating said lower carriage and the fingers carried thereby whensaid upper carriage is in its lowermost position,

and means for lifting said upper carriage whereby said lower carriage iselevated by means of said resilient connection to lift said fingers fromthe molds.

5. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically-reciprocable lower carriage above themolds, agitating fingers extending down from said carriage and adaptedto enter and reciprocate within the molds, a vertically-adjustable uppercarriage above said lower carriage, a shaft carried upon said uppercarriage, a crank mounted on said shaft, a connecting rod connectingsaid crank to said lower carriage for reciprocating the latter and thefingers carried thereby by the rotation of said shaft, and means forlifting said upper carriage for elevating said lower carriage towithdraw the fingers from the molds.

6. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically-reciprocable lower carriage above themolds, agitating fingers extending down from said carriage and adaptedto enter and reciprocate within the molds, a vertically-adjustable uppercarriage above said lower carriage, a shaft carried on said uppercarriage, a crank mounted on said shaft, a connecting rod connectingsaid crank to said lower carriage for reciprocating the latter and thefingers carried therebyby the rotation of said shaft, means for liftingsaid upper carriage for elevating said lower carriage to withdraw thefingers from the molds, and tension springs connecting said carriagesand normally tending to elevate said lower carriage but permitting saidrapid reciprocation thereof.

7. Mechanism for molding products of concrete andthe like in open topmolds, including a vertically reciprocable lower carriage above themolds, agitating fingers extending down from said carriage and adaptedto enter and reciprocate within the molds, a vertically adjustable uppercarriage above said first carriage, a shaft carried upon said secondcarriage, a crank mounted on said shaft, a connecting rod connectingsaid crank to said lower carriage for reciproeating the latter and thefingers carried thereby by the rotation of said shaft, means for liftingsaid upper carriage for elevating said lower carriage to withdraw thefingers from the molds, tension springs connecting said carriages andnormally tending to elevate said lower carriage, power means forrotating said shaft to reciprocate said lower carriage and fingers, andmeans for disconnecting said power means from said shaft to permit saidtension springs to elevate said lower carriage when said upper carriageis elevated.

8. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically adjustable upper carriage, a lowercarriage reciprocably supported from said upper carriage, agitatingfingers extending down from said lower carriage and adapted to enter andreciprocate Within the molds, means for raising the upper carriage forwithdrawing the fingers from the molds and for lowering the same topermit said fingers to enter the molds, a latch engaging said uppercarriage at each end thereof for locking said upper carriage in itslowermost position, a lever, and connections between said latches andsaid lever for operating both of said latches by movement of said lever.

9. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically adjustable upper carriage, a lowercarriage reciprocably supported from said upper carriage, agitatingfingers extending down from said lower carriage and adapted to enter andreciprocate Within the molds, means for raising the upper carriage forwithdrawing the fingers from the molds and for lowering the same topermit said fingers to enter the molds, and a latch for looking saidupper carriage in its uppermost position, said latch automaticallyengaging a portion of said upper carriage when said uppermost positionis reached. I

10. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically reciprocable carriage, agitating fingersextending down from said carriage and adapted to enter and reciprocatewithin the molds, means for raising the carriage for withdrawing thefingers from the molds and for lowering the same to permit said fingersto enter the molds, a tooth bar immediately above the molds with a,series of guide teeth for guiding the lower ends of the fingers into themolds, and means for vertically reciprocating the carriage while thefingers are within the molds.

11. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically reciprocable carriage, agitating fingersextending down from said carriage and adapted to enter and reciprocatewithin the molds, means for raising the carriage for withdrawing thefingers from the molds and for lowering the same to permit said fingersto enter the molds, means immediately above the molds for guiding thelower ends of the fingers into the molds, mechanism for withdrawing saidguiding means from the fingers after the latter have entered the molds,and means for vertically reciprocating the carriage while the fingersare within the molds.

12. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a material hopper, a chute of elongated cross sectionextending from said hopper and adapted to deliver material to saidmolds, said chute extending longitudinally and centrally of said molds,a row of agitating fingers on each side of said chute adapted to enterand reciprocate within the molds, and means for reciprocating saidfingers while in the molds.

13. Mechanism for molding products of concrete and the like in open topmolds, including a vertically movable upper carriage, a lower carriagereciprocably supported upon said upper carriage, agitating fingersextending down from said lower carriage and adapted to enter andreciprocate within the molds, power means for reciprocating said lowercarriage, control mechanism for connecting and disconnecting said powermeans, a latch bar for locking said control means in operative position,locking means for locking said upper carriage in lowermost position withthe fingers within the molds, and a connection between said lockingmeans and said latch bar by means of which said latch bar is tripped todisconnect said power means when said locking means is unlocked.

OTTO WALTER.

